Coetzee: Stormers have made strides
29 Jul 2012
Allister Coetzee has lamented a wasted opportunity following the Stormers’ semi-final exit but still considers the 2012 campaign a relative success.
The Cape side went into the play-offs with a 14 from 16 record, an unbeaten record at Newlands, and the South African conference title. It was a run of form that created an expectation, and it’s fair to say that the Stormers failed to live up to that expectation on Saturday.
In the game that mattered, the Stormers weren’t accurate enough on attack. They failed to take their chances in the first half, and were forced to play catch-up rugby in the second.
Saturday’s semi-final defeat is the Cape side’s fourth play-off loss in three seasons. It’s a damning record if you take it at face value, but as Coetzee has pointed out at various stages of the season, there have been some significant setbacks in 2012. In a way, it’s a surprise that the Stormers have got this far.
The Stormers played the Sharks on Saturday without Schalk Burger or Duane Vermeulen. Three players, namely prop Steven Kitshoff, openside flank Siya Kolisi and lock Eben Etzebeth were playing in their first knockout game. The Stormers’ injury situation at loose forward had also forced Coetzee to field Deon Fourie, a specialist hooker, at No 8.
Coetzee didn’t try to make excuses for Saturday’ performance. Indeed there were some unforgivable mistakes made by the Stormers, and not all of those were made by the rookies.
‘The Sharks put us under pressure, especially in the first half,’ said Coetzee. ‘We did not respond well. It’s very disappointing.
‘There were too many mistakes. Our kicking execution was poor and they did well to put our set piece under pressure. We struggled to get out of our own half.’
The Stormers coach wasn’t, however, completely displeased with the performance or the manner in which the team has conducted itself this season.
He conceded that it may be difficult for people to accept – and the Cape rugby public has been waiting since 2001 for a major title – but he doesn’t believe this side has underperformed.
‘If you take the emotion out of it, we are one of the three sides that have improved this season. The other two have been the Sharks and the Chiefs.
‘I think we’ve taken a big step in the right direction,’ he said. ‘It was a setback losing those players to injury, but then we did manage to win some close games throughout the season without them. I’m flipping proud that we were so close tonight, we almost forced it to go into extra time. We stood up to them physically and were never lacking for effort.
‘I know that at some franchises they won’t get that much criticism if they win just three games in a season, but the standards in Cape Town are very high. I respect that, and to all those fans out there, we are hurting just like you. But we will never stop fighting, we are going to get into a final and win that cup. We believe in this group and we will take a lesson from this.’
While Coetzee offered some perspective, captain Jean de Villiers was absolutely inconsolable. The Springbok centre produced one of the best performances of his Super Rugby career and still it wasn’t enough to help the Stormers progress to the final.
‘It’s a very tough one to swallow,’ De Villiers said. ‘We couldn’t have prepared better, and we had the attitude and commitment, but we just didn’t take our opportunities.
‘Believe me when I say, I’m starting to doubt myself and my own captaincy, I’ve been in this situation so many times,’ he added, alluding to the semi-final against the Crusaders at Newlands last year. Burger went down with an injury early in the second half, and De Villiers led the team in his absence. The Stormers ended up losing 29-10.
‘We want to get answers, but it’s tough. I don’t know what to say. We’ve been through some dark times this season and have still managed to pull through, and in that way I’m proud of this team. It’s just a pity about tonight.
‘It’s a feeling that won’t go away easily, and I’m sure we will still be feeling it next week. But I suppose we have to look at the positives.
‘A year ago I sat here talking to you after a loss to the Crusaders. It’s a different situation on this occasion, as we weren’t really in that Crusaders game. We came close [against the Sharks], so we are getting there with very small steps.’
By Jon Cardinelli, at Newlands
185 Comments
Pages: « 1 [2] 3 4 » Show All
29 Jul 2012, 13:56 pm
the stormers scrumhalf who kicked the ball into touch with a minute left on the clock…?..
what a joker
did he seriously hope they’d win a lineout against the throw and steal the match?
who does stuff like that..?…
29 Jul 2012, 13:57 pm
Brok Harris got popped by Beast from the very first scrum. How does he still have a contract? All he does is get munched at the scrums and hang around at centre in the loose.
29 Jul 2012, 14:09 pm
@King Shaka-52:
I did see him make a pass though…which is 1 more than dejong has made.
to be fair…Beast was onsong yesterday.
29 Jul 2012, 14:41 pm
A step in the right direction since 2001? boy this really defines baby steps
29 Jul 2012, 14:47 pm
Newlands has now became the family grave yard for the Stormers reallocate as soon as possible, the place is jinxed.
29 Jul 2012, 14:47 pm
@HongKongSlong-50:
“Why did AC not play Habana, Aplon, Pieterson and Van Den Heever 3 weeks on and one week on the bench?”
That is just a stupid idea. Rotating FOUR senior players all at the same time.
Also, have a look at the Stormers program and tell us which three games you would’ve selected the four players before giving them a rest. Keeping in mind that the Stormers played 16 matches, before yesterday, the players should only have played 12 matches while resting for the other four if AC used your system.
I believe it was that predictability in selection that helped the team to be as (moderately) successful as they were.
We saw what can happen with a team when the coach is very unpredictable in his selections.
Think Rudolph Straeuli as Bok coach.
@wait for it, wait for it…-51:
I nearly threw a brick through the TV screen when he did that. Unfortunately I was watching at a friend’s house.
29 Jul 2012, 15:01 pm
The difference between Grant and Michalak is two days on horseback, the Stormers problems started in the scrums, how long can they afford to keep a guy like Brok Harris?
29 Jul 2012, 15:25 pm
Stormers made no strides. The same plan they started the year with they finished.
That’s going backwards if everyone else is going forwards… I am waiting for…
‘the Stormers will win the CCup’.
AC, seriously… 12 years
29 Jul 2012, 16:09 pm
@Narutokun-30: I don’t understand how you can make a statement like that, the Stormers couldn’t beat the Sharks, who had just traveled to and back from Brisbane, at Newlands packed with 48 0000 supporters, (okai make that 45 0000 supporters allowing for a few black and white supporters) how on earth do you think they could have beaten the Chiefs who would have only travelled to Newlands and who have an attack that is equal to the Sharks and have Sonny Bill Williams who the Kaapies love thus reducing your homeground “advantage”? Makes your assertion that they were SAs best bet against the Chiefs as illogical to me!
29 Jul 2012, 16:20 pm
To all the nice Stormers, my sympathies having gone through those gut wrenching feelings more times than I care to remember especially this year, I know what you are going through and I sympathise.
To my Sharks Welldone boys!!!! You have proved all and sundry wrong so far! Let everyone write you off, you have shown and will show everyone on the field tha you are a team with soul and guts! Well done HG, Wooden spoon and Fernly you stuck unflinchingly to our team even when a few of us weaker lot gave in to doom and gloom! Don’t agree with your tactics and slagging though let that be clear!
To Plumtree I was wrong and I admit it I am happy to eat humble pie! and Welldone to you and your coaching staff as well!
To the other not so nice Stormer supporters must hurt that the spiritless Johnny come lately’s whose rugby pedigree is packaged in dog food came to Newlands the ground of THE SA team with the only right to premier competition participation and sent THE TEAM on an early rest period.
29 Jul 2012, 16:24 pm
@Sharksgirl-59:
I dont think he is of opinion they would have beaten the Chiefs but only that they would have had a better chance at newlands than the Sharks will have in Hamilton.
Well done to your team anyway, they were outstanding yesterday.
Whether they are good enough to travel across all the time zones again and beat a very good Chiefs team in NZ is another story. Its going to be extremely difficult- the Chiefs have arguably been the best and most consistent team in the tournament and they will be full of confidence after beating the star-studded Crusaders.
Good luck to your team.
29 Jul 2012, 16:27 pm
@nama1-56: You don’t get it do you? Van den Heever sat on the bench for virtually the entire season. That wont have done his confidence any good at all, will he want to stay at the Stormers if this is how he is to be used? He is a talent who is being wasted. Play him 3 weeks in a row from the start, then put him on the bench for a week and the same with the other 3 guys. That way 4 players are getting a lot of rugby, but also adequate rest. AC’s version leaves one player frustrated and the other 3 banged up and worn out.
His player management is more or less non existent and players being run into the ground is one of his hallmarks.
29 Jul 2012, 16:39 pm
@HongKongSlong-62:
Ja, van den Heever was certainly under- utilized- the Stormers might have been better yesterday if the had a bigger and stronger player like him amongst their back 3 to cope with the high balls. AC also over utilized the very average Duvenhage and Steenkamp and should have used the more talented Schreuder, Groome and Quinn Roux more often. Too late for tears now.
29 Jul 2012, 16:44 pm
I see Keos latest tweet, at the top of the page, is to Dorothy Black. News24s *** columnist.
29 Jul 2012, 16:51 pm
I don’t believe the word S e x is banned. It’s like parents having to spell out words in front of children.
29 Jul 2012, 16:53 pm
Best performances of his career? My foot. J de V missed the tackle on Ludick and didn’t make the camera shot when JP scored. As far as captaincy goes: the Bok-captain couldn’t outwit the travel-weary Sharks.
29 Jul 2012, 16:59 pm
@ sharksgirl
talk to me next week when ur team get molested by the chiefs in NZ!!!
Stormers had the best chance coz they were set up a home semi and final if they won. The sharks are not winning next mark my words
29 Jul 2012, 17:04 pm
@AssassinWP-32: What??? Like the 2 forward passes Walsh missed in Apolonikies try? The last one from Donkey DE Villiers was at least a metre and a half forward. Wa.sh did his best to let the stormers win. Or maybe he was pissed….
I just have to say this again……..in the now immortal words of some Sharks supporters…….
BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Come Sharkies, be the 2nd SA team to take the Super trophy. Bulls will do it next year.
Oh, I forgot. The Stormers already won it.
What do the Stormers have in common with the late michael Jackson?
They also always come in a little behind.
29 Jul 2012, 17:17 pm
Stormers lost this game before kick off.. Long before kick off
The bloody little pansie gentleman Jimmy Coetsee does NOT know how to win rugby competitions
Stormers froze in their own fear of losing psychology.. they were like dead men f’ng walking from the change room onto the field..
Same way Bulls took them apart in the other 2 finals games they had to step it up.. Alister Coetsee is a kiddy winkle bloody hopeless coach who does NOT have a goddamn clue about how to win at the arse end of a rugby tournament
How many more times they going to traipse down this same road until SOMEBODY realizes the archaic game pattern and sh’t scared cowardly conservative mindset is throttling this team from within?
Dumb bloody hopeless coaching which don’t have a foggy faint goddamn clue in the world of rugby coaching.
I could see before kick off these okes are gonna stuff it up by the manner of their psyched out self inflicted fear gripping their overwrought imaginations
That why they fumbled high kicks and couldn’t catch a goddamn cold when the high bombs came raining down
Plumtree out bamboozled Coetsee.. that is how Sharks won this game .. no other deduction about it.. and that IS and was the fundamental difference.. nothing to do with players overpowering.. ALL to do with cowardly selection processes and very weak poor coaching strategies on the day and the entire 2 weeks leading up to the big game.. PLUS the weak kneed capitulation of handing over the psychological platform for Sharks to dominate in the psychology stakes.
Stormers LOST the big games vs Sharks.. more so than Sharks outplayed them when it mattered.
Stormers almost lost to Rebels at home 2 weeks ago.. that is HOW pathetically motivated these Stormers players were.
29 Jul 2012, 17:17 pm
Not gonna applaud Stormers. The same mistakes were made again this year. What was the point of recruiting Deon Carstens and play Brok Harris who has not had enough recent gametime. The Bulls lost semi-finals in 2005&2006 and then got an Aussie backline coach in 2007 who developed their backline play further and they got the trophy year.
We have had similar momentum in 2010,11 and more should have been done to take the team to new levels this year. It should have been clear after 3,4,5 rounds that perhaps an expert backline specialist could be useful. An old hard ******* prop might have been a good addition after being destroyed by the Franks brothers in the 2011 home-semi ,but no , cause down here we’l waste 2,3 years developing Wicus Blaauw and Jc Kritzinger and Brok Harris only to replace them with a fresh set of 20year old inexperienced props. Someone like former French prop Pieter De Villiers could have been used as a scrumming consultant even prior to his appointment to Bok coaching staff. But nooo he’s coaching some Club team.
Only positive was guys like Kolisi , Etzebeth and Kitshoff coming through the ranks. Why is Robbie Fleck in the coaching setup if Chean Roux and John Dobson are the ones winning Varsity Cups and Vodacom Cups.
Gatvol
29 Jul 2012, 17:31 pm
@fitz1ella-69: Wanna share some of the Stuff ur smoking???? Oh wait i dont smoke, but i am sure i could spew what you are spewing if i also smoked the weed
29 Jul 2012, 17:34 pm
Stormers fck’d this up from the TOP.. Players are not to blame.. not ONE player is responsible for this dismal f’ng fall out.. Coetsee and Fleck must shoulder the entire blame.. and I see Proudfoot sitting in his untouchable ivory tower just putting on the kilo’s down in Cape Town..
Coetsee hits panic mode every time he’s faced with a minor problem and dunno where to turn .. the useless half arse JW lackey coach dunno what it takes to get the goddamn show on the road..
He’s got Armand, Roux, Kolisi, Elstadt, Etsebeth, Bekker, Steenkamp and Fenton Wells all firing but he opts for a second grade Canadian to fill in the gaps..then when crunch time comes along and Vermeulen not ready he plays a 100 Kg 5′ 9 ” Hooker at No. 8 instead of taking one of his big mobile units like Armand or Roux or even Bekker or Etsebeth to No. 8
He had every option open to him.. but instead he plays a 4 / 3 bench while his opponent coach plays a vibrant 5 / 2 bench and switches the back line on the day of reckoning..
That is the difference between a coach who KNOWS whats cutting and has the strength of his own conviction to take any situation by the seat of the pants .. and a dumb fck cowardly chicken who freezes up and plays patsy THREE years on the trot..
Same with the front row situation.. Carstens was available and gets couple bit part stand in cameo’s instead of Shouldering and BOLSTERING the front row dilemma.. he comes on for the last 15 minutes off the bench….
Coetsee is a chicken arse coach.. and his results go a long way to prove it.. when he was the Fake’s back line coach at Boks, Boks were so far out at sea they needed an Australian to come and put in a rescue mission at the eleventh hour just before D Day..
29 Jul 2012, 17:40 pm
@sharks_lover-71: go slit another heifers throat.. don’t come with your high society schmuckadilly idiocy here.. I know EXACTLY where Stormers lost the plot.. BEFORE kick off with a coach that Knows F’All about winning rugby
and where all you chicken arsed Dumtree haters now.. ALL of you crowing much better when if it were up to the likes of you backstabbers Sharks would have been OUT the comp 4 weeks ago with some OTHER coach from your VC team leading the charge of your rearguard action light brigade.
Plumtree been the difference between Sharks and all other SA sides so far.. and you moffo’s reckon its your player power that makes all the diffs.. its simply the head space and the motivational strategics on the day which has turned your season around… and that comes from the coaches box and the change room.. nothing else that compares apples with prickly pears.
29 Jul 2012, 17:55 pm
I ask AGAIN !!
WTF was Burton Francis doing taking up a VITAL bench spot in a make or break knock out semi final when it was NOT a requirement to back up our fly half.. we had PLENTY other options open.. Francis sat on the bench the last 5 games and got about 5 minutes game time from it..
WHAT kind of nervous tension chicken arse cowardly coaching strategy is THAT when you do NOT know HOW to utilize a fully fledged 22 man team for maximum potential and efficiency?
29 Jul 2012, 18:11 pm
@Robzim-61: @Narutokun-67: I get that! But what I don’t get is this, the Stormers were at home this week were they not? They had been rested and faced a Sharks team who had a real up and down season who had just flown to Australasia, back to Durban and then Cape Town not so? yet the Stormers were unable to beat them! What makes their chance of beating a confident Chiefs team better than the Sharks?
This may very well be a bridge too far for my team but then everyone has been saying that the Sharks stood no chance of beating the Bulls with a bonus poiint yet they did, They were not suposed to beat the Cheatahs, yet they did, The Reds were meant to end our dreams, yet they didn’t and then we were crazy even arrogant to think that we may stand a remote chance against the log leading Stormers yet here we are! So this time I will wait till the game has played itself out. The Chiefs are confident and are probably the best team in this comp, but they have more to lose than the Sharks, they have the pressure of expectations that comes with a home final, the Sharks however have come WAY further than any one expected!
29 Jul 2012, 18:12 pm
@fitz1ella-74:
Very good point- perhaps they selected Francis for non rugby reasons.
29 Jul 2012, 18:12 pm
@Sharksgirl-75: i.e: what I mean is what advantage did having a home game give you exactly?
29 Jul 2012, 18:25 pm
Skop, you have to be the world’s biggest chop. It is clear that you are disapointed, but really. Do you need to bang on about your coach, coaching staff and team like a demented idiot. No sports team needs a fan like you. Teams lose, that is sport. Nobody wins every game, or every tournament. Deal with your disapointment, but try to find a better way of doing it.
29 Jul 2012, 18:27 pm
@Sharksgirl-77:
Based on the history of the competitions home teams do always have an advantage. Untill yesterday the Stormers won their matches against the Sharks (since 1998) by an average margin of 5 and lost their away games by an average margin of 1 poin) It can therefore be deduced that there is an 6 point swing as a result of going from home to away. This “advantage” to the stormers does not even include the travelling the Sharks have done. The Sharks overcame this “handicap” yesterday but they will have an even bigger “handicap” to overcome next Saturday.
29 Jul 2012, 18:28 pm
@Sharksgirl-75:
Well said, my sentiments exactly!
29 Jul 2012, 18:29 pm
Another gold for Kazakstan in the women weigtlifting
29 Jul 2012, 18:34 pm
Basically Jean de Villiers kills every single ball the backline receives at 12 (thank god he is playing at 13 for the Boks) and his decision to kick the penalty with 8 minutes to go was beyond stupid. Lineout won on the 5m line would have been their best chance of levelling the game at that stage.
Both his play and captaincy are dubious and its good that he is second guessing himself cos he really needs to have a long hard look at himself as a player. Aimless kicks also cost them.
But to be honest they have been a bit off form for the last few weeks whilst the Sharks have been in form. To do what they did after the travel schedule theyve had is huge. Sharks deserve kudos for great defence and some great attacking play. If they got Lambie and Jordaan back theyd be looking smart. Such a pity Frans Steyn isnt playing too but they have the heart and attitude to put up an almighty fight next week and possibly sneak ithe title. Going to be a big ask against a very VERY fired up Chiefs. Taumalolo was a raging monster on Friday lol. Going to be a cracker of a game and praise the lord no Crusaders or Bulls in sight to annoy. Crusaders have had their cake and eaten it enough. Was fantastic seeing them lose for a change.
29 Jul 2012, 18:35 pm
15 000 people packed in at the Horse Guards Parade to watch some beach bunnies diving around in loose sand.
29 Jul 2012, 18:38 pm
@Robzim-79: Robzim, I am aware of this, and you cannot believe how proud of the Sharks each and every one of them I am for what they have achieved these last 6 weeks, not forgetting that most of them didn’t have a rest in between and have played against England as well ! I realise that the ask of this team this coming week is mammoth, but they have shown guts and spirit so far! I think they MAY surprise everyone on Saturday as they have been doing these last 6 weeks, if not I will still be proud of what they have achieved and be here hoping again next year! Hopefully with a lot more faith than I had this year thus far
29 Jul 2012, 18:38 pm
Yoh this is heavy to read
29 Jul 2012, 18:44 pm
Beach volleyball Russia vs Italia.
One for the purists.
29 Jul 2012, 18:45 pm
@Sharksgirl-75: if it were left to you and your Facebook petitioners Sharks would have been OUT long ago.. thankfully for you and the double take sharks supporters Plumtree went about his business and rejuvenated his team and came up with a winning formula which INCLUDES powerful psychological motivation behind the scenes and a far better approach to knockout rugby trhan Stormers coaching fraternity possesses.
The diference between Sharks and Stormers preparations and on the field and in the change rooms is down to the COACHING.. and nothing more than that. !!
@mako-78:
Bull dust I’ve watched this bunch of hopeless fools philandering along for 3 whole seasons.. they win the early encounters and then go into a dismal psychological HOLE they create for themselves..
Coetsee is NOT a winning rugby coach.. he has PROVED it for 3 or 4 seasons already.. and NOTHING he will do for the next 2 or 3 years is going to change his backward thinking cowardly conservative mindset.. He goes into a panic station free fall fallout at the cutting edge of the competition by simply failing to employ POSITIVE rugby strategics and his natural default program is to fall back on defense wins games NEGATIVE ones.
That is the FUNDAMENTAL difference between Sharks and Stormers this year.. Stormers were hoping to rest on the laurels of efforts they built up through the group stages by doing JUST enough to scrape through.. and when push came to SHOVE Coetsee and Fleck had NO answers and cramped up and froze in the headlights of their own nullified and cowardly inaccurate strategies which FAILED.. because it was NOT a case of players letting them down it was a case of the Coaches NOT knowing HOW to get maximum results from a group of players to Optimum on the day which mattered most.
I know how they could have beaten Sharks but these highly paid ineffective so called ‘professional’ coaches did NOT.!!
29 Jul 2012, 18:47 pm
@Sharksgirl-84:
You have no reason to be so hard on yourself for ” not showing faith”. At the time you were so disappointed in Plumtree you had more than enough reason to feel like that as the team certainly underperformed and he had to take responsibility for it. Those who backed him all the time had no real reason to do so but blind faith- good luck to them that it worked out but you have nothing to feel embarrassed about as you only acted rationally.
29 Jul 2012, 18:48 pm
But Fuckadilly you said the stormers would definitely win?
Where to now for the Realfuck Soothsayer?
29 Jul 2012, 18:51 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther-89: Ha ha, he was pretty certain, wasn’t he?
But the again he was also pretty certain the Mayan calendar was right about us all being dead by now. And about that alien rapture thing back in ’68.
I guess you can’t win ‘em all.
29 Jul 2012, 18:52 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther-89:
He will tell you now he sad this would happen from the start
29 Jul 2012, 18:52 pm
@fitz1ella-87: Hmmm Skop, it sounds like you are the man for the job then! Give it a bash old boy, put in your application.
Personally I think the Sharks played well below their own abilities early in the season, and have hit form at the right time. There are too many players in the Sharks side that are way better in their position than the Stormers, so it was always going to be tough yesterday for the men in blue. The bookies and pundits were banking on travel fatigue levelling the playing fie3ld, but the Sharks had too much class.
29 Jul 2012, 18:52 pm
@>^..^< katman-90:
29 Jul 2012, 18:53 pm
the = then, before Skoppie gets a gleeful typo hard-on.
29 Jul 2012, 18:54 pm
Yep indeed.
Cap’n Cunteye definitely drank his share of the koolaid.
29 Jul 2012, 18:55 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther-95: I wonder where Capo aka stormerforlife and weepee dissapeared to?? i mean according to them Sharks wouldnt make it past the Reds
29 Jul 2012, 18:57 pm
When they were winning Coetzee was the man, now they lose and Coetzee is in da chit
29 Jul 2012, 18:57 pm
yeah I backed my team prior to the game .. of course I did that.. and will continue to do so whether they coached by a bunch of morons or not ..
but my associates and friends who I watched the game with knows how I was watching the psychological freeze happen and how i could see Stormers were not deserving of a win under the cosh of their own inept strategies yesterday.. In spite of their supporters egging them on in their HOME stadium they were the ones frozen by their own fear of losing.. while the VISITING team was hitting their self belief straps..
and this comes down to COACHING and leadership.. where Stormers are weak especially in the self belief stakes when the going gets tough at the top..
As has been proven now EVERY year in succession since Coetsee took the top job.
29 Jul 2012, 18:59 pm
Capo is answering questions from the French Police after being caught in his Formula 1 hotel room with 4 underage poodles.
Unnamed sources suspect a poodle trafficking syndicate is at work.
29 Jul 2012, 19:00 pm
Men beach volley ball is so kak… only marginally better than floor exercises (gymnastics) for men. Only women should be allowed to play this sport.
Pages: « 1 [2] 3 4 » Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.